Water

Vitamins

Chemical compounds known as vitamins are necessary in small amounts for maintenance, growth, reproduction and lactation. As components of certain enzymes, vitamins are essential to maintaining life processes. Vitamins A, D, E, and K are fat-soluble vitamins. They can be stored in the liver or in other organs to provide the needs of the animal. A reasonable daily intake is recommended, however.

Dehydrated alfalfa meal and fish meal are natural sources of vitamin K. Naturally occurring vitamin K is a mixture of derivatives of the chemical compound menadione. These derivatives can have rather different molecular weights, so many people express vitamin K activity in terms of the amount equivalent to menadione, the chemical species common to all vitamin K forms. TestDiet^® products are supplemented by adding synthetic vitamin K as menadione dimethylpyrimidinol bisulfite and the reported value is in terms of the menadione equivalent.

The water-soluble vitamins, including the B-complex group and vitamin C, can be stored only in very limited quantities and, therefore, need to be a regular part of the daily diet. Monkeys, guinea pigs, and fish are three species of animals, besides human beings, that need regular doses of vitamin C.

Niacin is one of the B vitamins and is added to TestDiet^® products in the form of nicotinic acid. Natural ingredients can be a source of niacin, but much of the niacin from plant sources is bound and not biologically available. Values for both available and total niacin are listed in the Chemical Composition section of product fact sheets.

Vitamins in Purified Diets

In purified diets, some trace vitamins may be derived from some of the macronutrients (protein, carbohydrate, and fat sources). For the most part, however, each vitamin is obtained from a discrete primary source allowing very close control over total vitamin content. We can easily formulate a "specific-vitamin-deficient" and "no specific-vitamin-added" diet; but, because of trace amounts of vitamins from other ingredients, often it is quite difficult if not impossible for us to create a totally “specific-vitamin-free” diet. Even if the amounts of such vitamin may be below measurable levels, we would be reluctant to certify that it was absolutely free of that specific vitamin.

Vitamins in Custom Grain-Based Diets

The TestDiet^® division will customize the vitamin composition of any LabDiet^® product. Diets can be formulated to omit a vitamin added to the standard diet or they can be reformulated to eliminate the ingredients that are naturally-occurring sources of the vitamin in question. Likewise, a diet can be formulated with additional quantities of any vitamin specified.